Shibboleth

A shibboleth (/ˈʃɪbəlɛθ, -ɪθ/ ^ⓘ;^[1]^[2] Hebrew: שִׁבֹּלֶת, romanized: šībbōleṯ) is any custom or tradition, usually a choice of phrasing or single word, that distinguishes one group of people from another.^[3]^[2]^[4] Historically, shibboleths have been used as passwords, ways of self-identification, signals of loyalty and affinity, ways of maintaining traditional segregation, or protection from threats. It has also come to mean a moral formula held tenaciously and unreflectingly, or a taboo.^[5]

^ Jones, Daniel (2003) [1917], Roach, Peter; Hartmann, James; Setter, Jane (eds.), English Pronouncing Dictionary, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 485, ISBN 3-12-539683-2
^ ^a ^b "shibboleth". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster.
^ Allen, R. E.; Fowler, H. W.; Fowler, F. G. (1990). The Concise Oxford dictionary of current English (8th ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 1117. ISBN 978-0-19-861200-1 – via Internet Archive.
^ "SHIBBOLETH definition and meaning". Collins English Dictionary. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
^ Oxford English Dictionary Online, Shibboleth, Additional sense.

[1] Jones, Daniel (2003) [1917], Roach, Peter; Hartmann, James; Setter, Jane (eds.), English Pronouncing Dictionary, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 485, ISBN 3-12-539683-2

[:2-2] "shibboleth". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster.

[3] Allen, R. E.; Fowler, H. W.; Fowler, F. G. (1990). The Concise Oxford dictionary of current English (8th ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 1117. ISBN 978-0-19-861200-1 – via Internet Archive.

[4] "SHIBBOLETH definition and meaning". Collins English Dictionary. Retrieved 9 September 2024.

[5] Oxford English Dictionary Online, Shibboleth, Additional sense.

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